Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal
records, no number is typed in by an editor. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Terra Bella, California - 2 schools
An equity score of 80/100 ranks Terra Bella Union Elementary #96 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $16,853 per pupil, Terra Bella Union Elementary ranks #557 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
741
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$16,853
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Terra Bella Union Elementary operates 2 public schools serving 741 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 elementary, 1 middle schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Tulare County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $16,853 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 12.2% local, 69.7% state, and 18.1% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 80/100, ranked #96 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
a 761.6:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 14.3% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 97.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.6% White, 0.7% Asian across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Terra Bella Elementary, enrolling 455 students (63% of the district's total enrollment).
Terra Bella Elementary accounts for 61.4% of all Terra Bella Union Elementary student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Terra Bella Union Elementary a distant remainder — means Terra Bella Union Elementary-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Terra Bella Union Elementary has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 93.9% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Terra Bella Union Elementary student-counselor ratio is 762:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Terra Bella Union Elementary chronic absenteeism rate is 14.3% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
How many schools are in Terra Bella Union Elementary?
Terra Bella Union Elementary has 2 schools, including 1 elementary, 1 middle. Total enrollment is 741 students.
How much does Terra Bella Union Elementary spend per student?
Terra Bella Union Elementary spends $16,853 per student. The district has an equity score of 80/100, ranking #96 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Terra Bella Union Elementary?
Terra Bella Union Elementary students are 97.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.6% White, 0.7% Asian, 0.1% African American, averaged across 2 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Terra Bella Union Elementary?
Terra Bella Union Elementary has an equity score of 80/100, ranking #96 out of 1517 districts in California.